BPO options for mature talent

Life begins at 30, with a ring from call centers
The BPO and call centre industry is providing an ideal opportunity to mid career professionals who are looking for an alternate career. Over a period of time, the monopoly of youths and swashbuckling teenagers has been partially broken with more middle-aged individuals being employed by the call centres, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) units in India. On an average, with few exceptions, roughly around 5-10 per cent or in some cases even 15 per cent of the total workforce in these units now consists of those who are between 30-50 years.

In one instance, a mother and daughter were working together for a period of time in Mumbai based Transworks. The CEO of Transworks, Atul Kunwar, says that the mother followed the daughter and both worked together. Out of the current 4200 employees, 200 are above 30 in Transwork.

In another Mumbai-based BPO Intelenet Global Services, of 11,000 employees, 20 per cent of the total workforce is above 30 years of age. In Bangalore- based Wipro of the 17,000 employees, 16 per cent are above 30 years and 1 per cent above 40. Mumbai-based Epicentre has nearly 10% of its workforce who are above 30 years of age. In Efunds, which is a KPO, of the 3,800 employees, those who are between 30-40 years of age constitute 23 per cent of the workforce while those who are above 40 years constitute 2-3 per cent of the workforce.

In keeping with their growing numbers, the senior employees are now being offered jobs cutting across the entire spectrum of the outsourcing business. From floor duties to voice calls to managerial positions, they are doing it all. Night shifts and the pressures are accepted as a part of the job profile and age is no longer a limiting criterion for not hiring older citizens. Various human resources managers and the CEOs have realised that they could be useful, if their talents are channelised properly.

Manuel D'Souza, vice-president, Intelenet Global Services, says the industry perception and the staffing pattern have changed in the last three years. His company, for example, has been hiring persons above 30 from the insurance and banking sectors, retired persons or persons who have taken VRS and even housewives. "We are open to hiring anyone who has a set of skills that our company can utilise. We match the skills with our requirements and thereafter offer them training. Some join the floor duties, some are given voice-call duty and so on," says D'Souza.

It is the same industry that rejected such older people (above 30s) not so long ago. So what changed? As business expanded and demand for employees increased, the industry felt an acute shortage of youngsters or persons in their 20s who did not think twice before job-hopping. The rate of attrition in some of the BPOs reached an alarming level. It was then that the industry woke up to the fact that there was a huge workforce, not necessarily younger and in their 20s, but 30-plus and still mentally and physically able to meet their requirements.

Wipro CEO T K Kurien admits as much. He does say, though, that it was not just the attrition factor that lead to the change of heart. "Initially,in the formative years the BPOs or call centres were perceived as fun places for youngsters. But, over a period of time, everyone realised that it is a serious business. And if we get serious people why not hire them?" he asks.

Atul Kunwar, who was previously with Efunds, said the decision to hire persons above 30s was made when they were working on a variable model where people could work part time for a couple of days on the day of peak loads. "We recruited older persons, housewives or even youngsters who worked only for a few days in Efunds and we were pleasantly surprised at the output," says Kunwar.

According to Kurien, persons who are above 30 have taken their knocks in life. "They know what they want and are more stable professionally. They are not using their job as a stop-gap arrangement. And they adapt themselves to the requirements despite their past or despite some of the baggage they carry," he says.

But there are companies like Firstsource Solutions Ltd that have very few persons above 30. Vrinda Walavalkar, vice-president, corporate communication of Firstsource, says they have less than one per cent of workforce in their work operations though they have many in their management and office. "It is not that those who are above 30s are not capable but they are limited by various factors. Many of them don't clear the tests," says Walavalkar.

Those who have worked before and are above 30 have expectations. Therefore, in a company like Transworks, once selected, they undergo a year of on-the-job training followed by six months of training that prepares them for the subsequent senior position. Wipro has a special seven-day programme where senior people are trained on various aspects of communication. Psychologically, such persons have to cope with factors, ranging from having a boss who could be their son's age to physically coping with night shifts and vagaries of a very demanding job. So most companies are upfront about what the job entails during the interview and during the training process.